“Problem‐sourcing”: a re‐framing of open innovation for R&D organisations
Abstract
Purpose
While the benefits of open innovation (OI) and crowdsourcing (CS) for solutions to R&D problems have been widely promoted in the last ten years, their appropriateness for organisations specialising in providing R&D services has not been explicitly considered. This paper aims to examine an R&D organisation's response to increased adoption of OI and CS, highlight their drawbacks in this context, and analyse how and why the alternative of problem‐sourcing (PS) proved more effective.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides an in‐depth documentation and analysis of an initiative called: The “What's Your Problem New Zealand?” (WYPNZ) challenge. The use of a single case and qualitative approach allows the development of an illustrative, rich description and is suited to studying unique and novel events.
Findings
In the context of professional R&D organisations, a range of benefits of CS for R&D problems rather than solutions were identified, including generating a potential pipeline of projects and clients as well as avoiding the challenge to the professional status of the organisation's research capability. An unexpected side‐effect was that the reputation of the research organisation as open, accessible and helpful was greatly enhanced. The success of the PS approach to CS for R&D provides insight into how some of the pitfalls of OI/CS can be better understood and potentially managed.
Originality/value
The PS model provided by the “WYPNZ” initiative represents a new strategic possibility for R&D organisations that complements their traditional competencies by drawing on the openness that OI and CS seek to leverage. As such, it can provide insights for other organisations wishing to make use of the connectivity afforded by OI/CS in an alternative mode to that typically in use and reported in the literature.
Keywords
Citation
Cummings, S., Daellenbach, U., Davenport, S. and Campbell, C. (2013), "“Problem‐sourcing”: a re‐framing of open innovation for R&D organisations", Management Research Review, Vol. 36 No. 10, pp. 955-974. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-07-2012-0177
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited